Finally! CIAO ROMA!

My gosh what a struggle to get here. I was supposed to leave Toronto on Sept 8 at 4:30pm on a Skyservice flight. They kept delaying and delaying, saying that the toilet needed to be fixed and that they had to fly a part in from Ottawa. Disaster. At 12:30am they decided to cancel the flight and fly off at noon instead on the 9th. Of course, all 320 of us were furious - the staff didn't give us any information. I mean most of us were there for 12 hours in total, just waiting for an answer... so of course there were some very mad people around, but it was also when we all started talking to each other too. In the end, I got put up in the Sheraton hotel across the street from the airport which was AMAZING. I will update with photos later, because this internet cafe doesn't have a memory card reader. After a brief sleep, and an amazing breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, homemade hashbrowns, and bacon, we were off.

Arrived in Rome at 3am this morning, shared a cab to the hotel with some new friends, and crashed for two hours. Made it out of the hotel this morning at 9am for a full day of touring! Last night I was feeling a bit apprehensive about coming on this trip by myself. This is the first time I've been to a new country in 4 years, and it's the first time I'm really traveling by myself too! Had some fruit for breakfast, walked along Via Nazionale to the Vittorio Emmanuel II Monument, then along Via del Corso to the Spanish Steps... then made my way to Piazza del Popolo, had some great pizza at a small cafe, then passed by the Pantheon, hung out at Piazza Navona, then down to Campo de Fiori.. then back to Via del Corso and Via Nazionale to shop, and now, 7 hours later, I finally get to sit down in an internet cafe across the street from my hotel. Bliss.

It really is amazing here - there are so many smells and sights... every shop smells different, and in a good way! Even the newest shops, especially along Via dei Condotti such as Gucci, Fendi and MaxMara have these elaborate architectural details to the buildings. I really can't get over it. There was a sign in a window that said 'Il cashmere di weekend'... ok seriously, if you are spending the amount necessary to buy good cashmere, you'd better be wearing it all week long.

I have been shopping all day and yet all I bought was a great evening top, a painting, and a gorgeous necklace. Could I possibly be cured of my shopping disease?? I guess I really am living in three pairs of capris and four t-shirts for the next 3 weeks... scary. this is the point at which everyone should be happy that they're not traveling with me. Jules, you are totally right... these keyboards do have fun keys: ù§àçò°... LOVE IT.

I will be meeting the tour group in about an hour which is crazy exciting. I love having time to myself but it'll be nice to walk around with people who know more of the history.. and the other thing that took awhile today because of my lack of italian language knowledge, was trying to figure out the difference between trattorias, bars, restorantes and pizzerias. Nope, still don't know. Am looking forward to a fun dinner tonight followed by a good sleep. Love life right now.

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